"It was great (in May) for the team to see that we can win and that we can put together a full race," Kahne said. "For myself, it just felt really good to get that first win with Hendrick Motorsports.

"Mr. (Rick) Hendrick has put a lot into me over the last year and I wasn't even racing for him yet. … For me, it was a lot of confidence (with the win). It felt good to be a part of HMS and for the team, they were probably like, 'Man, we can win races with this guy.' "

Fourth in the Cup standings, Kahne is poised to have his best season. He obviously believes this is one of his best opportunities as part of an organization that has won 10 Cup titles — including nine with current drivers Jimmie Johnson (five) and Jeff Gordon (four).

Kahne said it wasn't until he drove for Hendrick that he realized how different it is from other teams. He had been in the garage for eight seasons, with a career-best eighth in the standings in 2006, but still didn't know everything there was to know about Hendrick.

"There's a lot that I thought I knew and everybody has their opinions on different things but there's a lot you don't know until you're part of it," Kahne said. "The way Mr. H treats people, the way everybody loves being there and puts such an effort into always getting better and making the cars better and things like that.

"(And) the way all the drivers and communicate and act like a four-car team. A lot of that stuff you wouldn't know unless you were part of it. It's been awesome the way they play that up."

The depth of the organization in personnel and equipment gives Kahne and crew chief Kenny Francis more of an ability to win on a consistent basis.

"You have the opportunity to do whatever you can do with it," Kahne said. "I love having that opportunity. There's a lot of other places that have tons of opportunity too and have a lot of great people (but) it's great to be where I'm at.

"I'm definitely not going to let up. I want to run as well as I can and keep getting better the whole time I'm there."

Kahne has at least four years to make it work at Hendrick. And after a somewhat of a slow start to the season, his two wins and 15 top-10 finishes this year are a sign that some of his best years could be ahead of him.

"When you come to Hendrick Motorsports, you certainly know you are getting into a quality team with quality people," Gordon said about Kahne's transition. "But I think you also find out it just doesn't come easily. You have to work hard and gel as a team.

"They took some time this year to click."

Gordon said the key to Kahne's success was having Francis come with him.

"Even with this great team and continuity that they have and experience, it took time for (Kahne and Francis) to really get into their stride and understand the Hendrick way — how we communicate, how we build our cars," Gordon said.

"Probably the difference is some of the geometry of how we do things. They're starting to find out, as they have adopted a lot of these philosophies and brought their own, that's it's a very strong combination."

For Kahne, he has found out what it's like to expect to be a contender nearly every week.

"This was the first year I felt as confident as I do with each racetrack I go to," Kahne said. "Every track we go to, we really legitimately have a shot to run in the top five and if things go right we can win. Minus Watkins Glen (where I struggle)."